“Is it like this?”
Yan Chuan furrowed his brows even tighter.
The garden was filled with a vast expanse of roses, blooming in delicate pink and white, resembling an ocean of deep and light pink flowers from a distance.
The handsome, slender young man sat in the garden, a thin blanket draped over his knees, revealing his delicate, snow-white calves beneath.
His features were soft and exquisite, and his slightly rounded eyes softened the allure brought by the upward tilt at the outer corners. His expression was faint, even carrying a hint of hesitance that felt distant yet close.
Long, curled eyelashes hung down, casting a gentle glance; in his dark, lustrous eyes, it seemed as if a circle of translucent moonlight was crushed.
His skin was so white it was nearly transparent, especially under the sunlight, where his slender wrists even revealed tiny purple veins.
The beautiful, melancholic young man sat on the chair, holding a rather obscure poetry collection, which he had pulled from the bookshelf, his slightly pink fingertips resting on it.
When his gaze swept over, the corners of his eyes slightly lifted, almost forming a line with his thick, curled lashes.
Dan Qi was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Mm?” After waiting for a while, the handsome young man received no response and let out a questioning sound.
It was only then that Dan Qi realized, repeating what he had just said: “No matter what role the contestant takes on in the script, they cannot trust the NPCs, even if they seem to belong to the same faction.”
“They are there to serve the script; the escape variety shows naturally target the contestants.” Dan Qi lowered his eyes and spoke rapidly, as if hastily channeling away the embarrassment from staring blankly.
Yan Chuan didn’t dwell on why Dan Qi was momentarily stunned; he merely nodded, indicating he understood.
What Dan Qi said was a consensus from the forums, but Yan Chuan felt that the words Qi Yan had said to him… couldn’t be sufficiently explained using this reasoning.
Moreover, he had no reason to appear before the contestants; managing things behind the scenes was enough.
Just like the playback of others’ words, he completely remained unaware of the identities of the investors in the background.
There was no necessity for him to become the top contributor in the live room, nor to join in on the romantic live streams.
The entire situation felt rather bizarre.
Yan Chuan silently noted down what Qi Yan had said.
However, he also had no idea what the other party meant by “see you again.”
“Did you encounter some strange NPC in the script?” Dan Qi speculated, cautiously bringing up the question based on Yan Chuan’s expression.
Yan Chuan gently nodded.
He pondered over his words: “Can NPCs break away from their original scripts and enter other scripts?”
Dan Qi gave a firm answer: “No.”
“Whether it’s a multi-person script or a single-person script, contestants do not have the possibility of encountering NPCs again.” Dan Qi clarified, “Every time the script ends, regardless of whether the contestant clears it, the script resets and starts anew.”
Yan Chuan asked, “Like a game reset?”
Dan Qi nodded: “It can be understood that way; otherwise, every script the contestants enter would be brand new, and there would be no opportunity to share experiences.”
Yan Chuan thought for a moment: “I see.”
Thus, the anomaly of the script was unveiled.
Yan Chuan’s next script would be in three weeks, nearly a month, allowing him a good period of rest.
During this time, he stayed busy, either asking Dan Qi about his script clearing experiences or browsing forum posts.
He lived a structured life, visiting the hospital for check-ups. If not for needing to re-enter a script in three weeks, he might as well consider it a pleasant coexistence with Dan Qi.
Unknowingly, Yan Chuan had grown accustomed to having someone chat with him all the time.
However, on this day, he discovered a message from an unknown contact.
At that moment, he was still seated in the small garden, enjoying the serene and open environment, where the fragrant scents of flowers wafted through the air, making it his favorite place recently.
He set down the book he had been reading halfway, inserted a bookmark, and opened the message from the unknown contact.
“Do you want to know the secrets of the escape variety shows?”
It was just this brief line, straightforwardly stating the intent, yet it made Yan Chuan furrow his brows.
Who sent the message? Why were they sending him such a line?
Yan Chuan first ruled out Dan Qi.
This person had always followed him like a tail, appearing rather mindless, even qualifying as being a “simp,” making it odd for him to suspect that person.
Moreover, the term “secret” was too broad.
The “secret” of the escape variety shows could pertain to why it appeared in the real world, how so many contestants silently emerged in the scripts, or even the secret of the escape variety shows themselves—what energy they absorbed to operate and how they selected contestants.
But the other party had only sent this one statement.
Yan Chuan pondered for a moment, hearing Dan Qi call for him from the living room, carefully considering what to say.
“Who are you?”
Yan Chuan felt he might have seen this person somewhere before.
Soon, as he tidied up and entered the house, the other sent back: “Don’t you want to know the secret?”
Yan Chuan immediately lost interest.
Was he trying to lure him in with secrets?
He raised an eyebrow, casually replying with “?” and then tucked his phone away.
“What’s wrong?” Faced with Dan Qi’s concerned expression, Yan Chuan shook his head: “It’s nothing, just a spam message. Shall we eat?”
Dan Qi responded with an “Oh,” also losing interest in the message.
Three weeks later.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink, it was the day Yan Chuan would re-enter the script.
He himself had no excess emotions, only Dan Qi seemed to act as if he was the one entering the script.
“I wish I could get a usable prop in the script,” Dan Qi said with an air of disappointment, “Unfortunately, I’ve never obtained a prop that allows two people to enter one script together.”
“It’s fine,” Yan Chuan blinked, comforting him: “The difficulty of the scripts you and I will enter is different; it might be better to go in separately.”